The Joys of Learning at Home & The Top 7 Reasons Why We Homeschool.

I glance at the time as I finish reading the final sentence of the passage I was studying. Wow! 8am already? One last sip of my coffee and it’s time to wake the kiddos. Before I can move, a sleepy little 8 year old comes cuddling up next to me on the couch with his own Bible. What are you reading I ask? About David, he replies, concentrating on the thought bubble of his Action Bible. Are you learning a lot? Yes, he mumbles, smiling and obviously engulfed in his reading. Where’s your brother?, I ask. In bed…reading, he mumbles quietly. I smile, grateful for the peace, grateful that I don’t have to rush out and grateful for the fact that it’s NATURE STUDY DAY…WHOOO!!!! In a couple hours the kids and I along with some of our best friends will be sitting quietly in front of a lake or meadow, or the bayou watching and listening to the flora and fauna that God placed in our view as we quietly sketch in our nature journal.

Now don’t get me wrong this lovely illustration is not our everyday but it truly is one of the days that make me say, Ahhhhh…I love homeschooling!

Then we have those other days! You know the days that mom just wakes up with an attitude (aka, the days I said, ” I’ll do those dishes tomorrow” then get fuming angry when I rub the sleep out of my eyes and the sight of them immediately HITS ME IN THE FACE!!! GRRRR)
Then when you finally get those kids up, convinced that if they just hurry up and settle into their independent work you will be able to tackle it all and your day will be right back on track!!!!! Then the phone rings, and you realize that not only do you have to run to three different places before 11am, you also have that lesson you didn’t prepare for and of course your normally mild mannered kids are now FIGHTING!!!! Well what’s a mom to do? I know! Yell LOUDER with threats that’ll push them back into submission. And then of course freak out. Would this be considered “sick”? I’m definitely not feeling well…can I just hide in my room today??!?!?! WHY CAN”T TODAY BE CANCELLED!?!?!?!

Those days are the worst!!!! Those are the “mommy guilt out” days. The ones you wish didn’t happen. The ones you swear ruined (or are ruining) your precious children. I hate those days!!
I like the first day. However, those other days are going to happen. One thing I learned is that those days are inevitable but honestly those days are actually contributing to what I believe is the beauty of homeschooling!

I know that sounds crazy but just hear me out. In no particular order:

Our Top 7 Reasons Why We Homeschool

1) The Good the Bad and the Ugly
We have this amazing opportunity to learn with our kids in the good moments and the bad. Our kiddos are with us all day and we don’t really get that scheduled break. They see us in the flesh, real as can be, all day, EVERYDAY! They see us in all the seasons and we have this amazing opportunity to not only teach them, but to learn right along with them. We learn who we are in those terrible moments and they learn how an adult should react. “How about if everyday is “mommy guilt out day” ? you ask, well I say, then ask for forgiveness, and show them how an adult should react to their mistakes. Even in the worse of days, or even the worse of seasons, we always have the opportunity to teach them as we live life together.

2) The World is Our Classroom
One thing I love about homeschooling is the learning, quite literally, never stops. For most homeschool families (at least the many I know) teaching and learning just seems to be engraved in our everyday lives…it’s like a habit or something. On a typical day my kids read at least one book on their own to find something out they were curious about. If they don’t have a book on it then they watch YouTube tutorials or wait for mom or dad to help them figure it out. Trips to the grocery store, playing with friends, family vacations and road trips evolves into a great big fieldtrip that has loads of substance. I’m blown away at how much information you can pack into your child in a normal day. Other than the fact that we’re just used to teaching and learning, I believe the reason why the world is our classroom is because learning at home doesn’t feel like a chore and because of that it instilled in them a true love for learning. Which brings us to #3.

3) For the love of learning

My kids have this innate love for learning that I myself never developed until I was a young adult. They want to know, they want to learn, they want to discover and they want to do it all day long (except when they’re allowed to play video games…but that a whole other blog post). Like I stated above, I believe its because it’s not a chore (don’t get me wrong, formal studies like math and language arts can feel like chores to them at times; in some seasons all the time, but that’s not the norm for us, and again, another blog post). Life is learning and learning is life. There seems to be a gray area between the two the longer you’ve homeschooled. In fact after a while they’ll be days when you feel like you didn’t do school but quickly realize that you did! Crazy right?!

4) We are Their Greatest Influence

If I put this in order then this reason would actually be on the top. So think back to your childhood in your old public/private school. Where were you most of your days? I think back and the majority of my days were spent at school and at daycare (I had two working parents). I don’t want my children’s greatest influence to be their teacher and school mates! And lets face it, I learned more from the kids around me than I ever did from my teachers. I sort of cringe when people ask me about socializing my kids; my husband normally just tells them socialization is the reason why we homeschool them. They’re still with their friends quite often, and they’re still influenced by them, but we are the greatest influences in their lives. We have quite a big job.

5) Being Apart of Their World

This is another reason that could’ve easily been in my number one rank (which is precisely the reason why I didn’t put these in order). Watching their development not just mentally but spiritually. This is probably the MOST REWARDING part of being a homeschool parent. To see them after months and months of laborious work and crying (on both parts) and frustration FINALLY able to solve that math problem or write their name or read is priceless!!! After I felt the joy of seeing all those aha moments and marveling in them, to me missing these moments are like missing their first step or their first word. I feel privileged to be able to see it all and be there in these amazing moments. I feel honored to be apart of it all with them. And given the choice, I wouldn’t miss any of it.

6) Where They Need to Be

This actually means more to my hubby than it does to me, though I do care plenty about it. We don’t want our kids education to be determined by an institution anymore than we want their, beliefs, aspirations, or their personality to be determined. We don’t want them to be held behind in a subject that they excel in because the rest of the class is behind. On the flip side we don’t want them to get pushed forward in a subject that they need extra help in because the class has moved on. If they’re a kinesthetic learner, I don’t want them to have to learn everything in a way that only an auditory learner would excel in, just because that’s the teachers teaching style. And if they love a specific subject, or group of subjects, I want their learning to be based on that; because let’s face it, that’s probably where they’re going to end up in life. These are things that they just don’t have the resources to change in a public/ private school setting and it’s understandable. But because of this, as long as we’re able to, we homeschool.

7) Because We Can

So with all things said, I do realize that not only is homeschooling not for every family, but not every families circumstances lends itself to it. For us, it’s just what fit. We, as parents, were first and foremost unified in it (Though I, for a VERY long time homeschooled reluctantly…again, a whole other blog post). We were able to make do (by the skin of our teeth) on one of us (me) staying home while working random hours (I ran a Dj/ Karaoke business to supplement our income but…yes, you guessed it, another blog post). Plus, our state, grand ole’ Texas, allows it. So things just fell into place. And once I was completely onboard it just worked. I know that our circumstances can change at anytime. I would be so sad, but I know that it is a great blessing now and we don’t know what tomorrow brings.

` I have a deep gratitude for the fact that we could homeschool; but I have an even deeper gratitude that we have this choice. If we were not able to anymore, because our circumstances change, I am so very grateful that all is not lost. Our government, churches and other private institutions has set so many schools around us. We have options! There are amazing teachers out there who give their whole being into impacting the children in their lives. Sure I’ll miss homeschooling but there are tons of good things about “normal” school!

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About author

Trish Santos

Trish is a wife & mother of four. She lives & homeschools her children in their home in Houston. She is the owner & DJ with The JoyfulNoise Mobile Music Studio. Trish is also a musician, an avid thrifter, a bargin hunter, a diy'er, & Content Creator for BagladyChic.com

I Know!!!! It really is a blessing; and honestly I didn’t know what I was missing until I gave my heart to homeschooling them and I actually saw those milestones. Being a part of all that is priceless.